Part I – Logo discussion
Part II – ITP Logo Design
(AKA “Flogging a Dead Horse”)
Sometimes I jump past the brainstorming straight into the execution, much to my detriment. This was one of those cases.
I got completely obsessed with the idea that my ITP logo would consist of a 3D shape in which each letter was carved through one face, so the profile of the object would cast I T and P shadows depending on which way the light was passing through it. I started by building the object in Google Sketchup:
And here it is shaded. The first problem was that it was hard to decide whether to use a straight isomorphic view, which partially obscured the geometry of the object and made it look somewhat like an optical illusion:
Or to tilt it slightly so the geometry was more obvious but the symmetry was lost:
So then I thought color might help:
The problem is, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, you really can’t see the T. And the I is a bit sketchy as well. So then I thought I would try to make it more obvious by repeating the shape three times:
Better. But overall a pretty retro 1970s look, very chunky and heavy. Maybe if I move the camera to the front, and just hint at the geometry?
No, now it just looks like I’ve done really weird and pointless things to flat letters.
Well, maybe I’ll go back to the single object, and virtually cast shadows through it so it’s more obvious what I’m trying to do:
I guess this last one is my favorite, but I still don’t think I escaped the boxy, heavy feel of logos from the 70s. It doesn’t feel fresh. I think it would be right at home on the box of an IBM PC or Commodore 64.
Ultimately, I think this was an intriguing idea that just didn’t hold up to scrutiny. If I had time I’d go back to the drawing board.